Site Mobile Navigation

Pirro Faces Questions About Future as Prosecutor

A month after her husband was convicted of federal tax evasion and conspiracy, Jeanine F. Pirro is facing questions about whether she intends to keep her job as Westchester County district attorney.

A front-page article in this week's New York Observer, quoting four friends who were not identified, reported that Mrs. Pirro was considering resigning her $136,700-a-year post for a more lucrative private job.

A spokeswoman for Mrs. Pirro vigorously denied the report today. ''This is an absurd hypothetical with no basis in fact, and it's regrettable that there are newspapers that would print groundless, baseless rumors,'' said the spokeswoman, Anne Marie Corbalis. ''The district attorney is in her office doing her job, which she will continue to do for the remainder of her term and hopefully into the next term.''

But in spite of the denial, one close friend of Mrs. Pirro's said that because her husband, Albert J. Pirro Jr., had left his law firm and faced a possible prison sentence of three to four years, Mrs. Pirro was torn between ''her love for public service and her need to make sure her family is financially secure.'' The friend, Michael R. Edelman, a Republican consultant and former Westchester County prosecutor, said his information had come from people close to Mrs. Pirro.

''I am aware of the fact that she does have to make that choice and it's weighing very heavily on her,'' Mr. Edelman said. ''You don't have to be a genius to figure out that Jeanine Pirro in the private sector, regardless of what the situation was, could make a lot more than the $130,000 that she's getting as D.A. I think Jeanine could make hundreds of thousands of dollars easily.''

But James Cavanaugh, the chairman of the Westchester County Republican Committee, said today that he had spoken to Mrs. Pirro a week ago.

''She said it is her intention to run next year,'' he said.

For a time it seemed as though Mrs. Pirro, whose term as district attorney expires in November 2001, could write her own ticket in the Republican Party. Smart, tough and telegenic, she was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for United States Senate.

But her prospects dimmed considerably after Mr. Pirro, an influential Westchester County lawyer and Republican lobbyist, was indicted last year with his brother and accountant, Anthony G. Pirro, on federal tax fraud charges.

On June 22, a jury convicted the brothers, further darkening Mrs. Pirro's political future and jeopardizing the couple's financial well-being.

Friends and associates say privately that the couple are financially strapped. Her husband had to pay $1 million in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service before the trial began.

There are legal bills totaling more than $1 million, and he could be fined several hundred thousand dollars at his sentencing on Sept. 28.

In addition, Mr. Pirro has ceased practicing law, having resigned from his White Plains law firm, Pirro, Collier, Cohen & Halpern (now minus the ''Pirro''), immediately after he was convicted.

Their lifestyle, as revealed in court testimony, was exceptionally lush, sprinkled with Ferraris, a Bentley and a Mercedes Benz, a $13,250 Chinese rug and a $1,800 wrought-iron enclosure for their Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs.

Even Mrs. Pirro's mother, who lives in Elmira, N.Y., drove a Mercedes paid for by one of her husband's 33 companies.

Prosecutors maintained that those expenses were part of more than $1.2 million in personal expenses Mr. Pirro claimed as business deductions.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Pirro, Colleen Roche, would not say today whether he would appeal his conviction, adding only that he was ''obviously considering all his options.''

A leader in the Westchester County Republican Party, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he ''wouldn't be shocked'' if Mrs. Pirro chose not to run for re-election. ''They clearly have lost a significant amount of income,'' he said. ''He's no longer practicing law, and she can't maintain her lifestyle on a district attorney's salary.''

Republican Party strategists say that if Mrs. Pirro does decide to resign, the timing of her departure could be crucial.

If she leaves office before Sept. 20, 2000, Gov. George E. Pataki, a Republican, will name an interim district attorney and the county leaders of both parties will pick candidates to run in a special election this November.

But if she steps down on or after Sept. 20, an interim district attorney will be able to serve until the regularly scheduled election in November 2001, according to the Westchester County Board of Elections.

By then, the interim district attorney could have an established identity, and an electoral edge.

If Mrs. Pirro does decide to leave public life, friends said, she will not have to look far for work. ''It's fair to say she's had a number of offers,'' Mr. Edelman said.